Creative Fire
by kateomega97
Summary: That's what she is, truly, creative fire to melt his ice. Perhaps Loki has learned something from her.


**A/N: Shoutout to Kinz for betaing.**

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It was hot.

A dry hot, one that had gone on for days and made every living thing slow, and boring.

At least in New Mexico.

Loki was bored. He sat on the front steps of the residence he shared with his brother and his brother's…consort. The sun in the middle of Nowhere, New Mexico scorched the ground.

He flicked open the Zippo in his hands and watched the sliver of flame burn for the 768th time that day.

"I can't stand them."

Also Darcy. He shared the house with Darcy as well.

She stepped across the threshold of the house and on to the stoop.

"They are...disturbingly…" He searched his mind for the proper describer.

"Fluffy? Cute? Sickeningly lovey-dovey?"

"The last one. It fits well." He continued to stare at the lighter.

"I'm with you. I'd pick the heat over being in the same room as that pile of cotton candy bunny eyes any day."

She sat down next to him and stared out across the desert before looking at the lighter.

"You like fire, huh?"

"Yes." He responded, refusing to look away from the fire.

"Why?"

The flame flickered and twitched.

Hm. He'd never thought about why before.

"It's elegant. And mysterious. You Earth people qualify everything as a solid, liquid, gas, or plasma, no? So what is it? A collection of gasses. And yet, it is more. It is the reaction itself." He smiled. "I also appreciate its utter destructive power. It burns. It ruins. It does not forgive. It does not encourage growth or beauty."

"You're wrong."

The lighter flipped closed abruptly.

"What?" He narrowed his eyes and then turned to scowl at her.

"Don't they say that a forest fire clears the dead layers of the forest out and lays new soil for growth?"

"That has naught to do with the fire itself. That is the forest bouncing back from the fire. The fire still destroys everything in its path. It still kills."

"Fine." She grinned. "You want me to prove you wrong? It's the perfect day. The lovebirds are walking into town tonight. You and me are going to take the truck, Reindeer Games, and I'll show you some creative fire."

And then she opened the door to the house and vanished into its air conditioned depths.

"Don't call me Reindeer Games," he muttered, and flicked the lighter back on.

The sun was beginning to set, Jane and Thor were prepping for their date, and Darcy still had not returned to take Loki to see the "creative fire". She had piqued his curiosity, and then left him to wonder what she had meant. It was annoying, like an itch, or the mortal girl herself.

Jane had just gone form fixing Thor's tie to kissing him passionately when Darcy burst through the door, interrupting their sickening love fest. Jane looked startled and quickly patted her dress and ran her fingers though her hair. Thor looked at her in confusion. Loki smirked as Darcy snickered.

"Welp, you better get moving or you guys are going to be late for the movie!" And with a mischievous grin she shoved the two of them out the door and slammed it shut, leaning against it with a sigh of relief.

Loki looked at her from the couch and quirked an eyebrow.

"Jane would not be pleased if she found out I was taking you out. Somehow, I doubt Thor would either. Plus, they were filling the room with lovey-doveyness. It was grossing me out."

Perhaps Darcy was not so bad. Comparatively.

"Very well. Shall we go?" He rose from the couch, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Okay, hang on. I have to pack. Have you eaten dinner yet?"

Dinner? Oh, yes, the last meal of the day.

"No..?" He stared at her in curiosity.

"Perfect. Go wait in the truck, I'll be out in a sec."

Finally! Losing a bit of his cold composure, the Asgardian practically raced to the old pickup truck SHIELD had given them for their research, buckling himself into the passenger seat just in time to see Darcy stumble and nearly drop an enormous blanket and basket on the floor of the garage, before throwing them into the bed of the truck.

Plopping herself into the driver's seat, she turned to him and grinned, a twinkle in her bright blue eyes. He glared at her, stopped bouncing in his seat, and crossed his arms.

"Someone's excited, aren't they?" She snickered.

His glare grew. "I have been waiting all day. I cannot help it if I am mildly impatient. Are you going to drive or not?"

She threw her head back and laughed, her dark brown hair spilling down her shoulders, and started the car.

Loki didn't think there was anything that was closer to the middle of nowhere than the tiny town they based their research in, but Darcy quickly proved him wrong, driving straight into the empty desert. He had no idea how she knew where she was going, as there were no markers he could make out to direct her where to go. He fixed his eyes firmly forward, watching the sun sink lower in the sky and chomping down on his excitement every once in a while when he realized he was bouncing again.

Finally, they came upon a group of cars, and Darcy parked in line with them and hopped out of the truck. Reaching the bed, she handed him the blanket. He stared at it in confusion.

"C'mon! We gotta go get a good spot!" She gestured for him to follow and took off running. He rolled his eyes and then jogged after her. So much energy for a little mortal!

Apparently Darcy had "a spot" that was more suitable (for what? Loki wondered) than the rest, and she instructed him on how to lay out the blanket as she unpacked the enormous basket.

With everything set, they both sat down on the blanket. Darcy handed him a large skewer with what appeared to be chicken, tomatoes, and bell peppers on it.

"Kabob. Travels well, is versatile, and tastes delish. Try it! I made it myself." She smiled up at him as he bit into the chicken. It was very good, the savory flavors blending well.

He looked into her hopeful, bright blue eyes and narrowed his own.

"It's pretty good." He said grudgingly.

Darcy did a small victory dance.

As they waited for whatever they were waiting for to start, Darcy pulled out what she had referred to as her "baby". Loki stared at it curiously.

"What is that? I have seen you carrying it around the house with those strings in your ears. Why?

"Haven't you ever seen an IPod before?" She grinned mischievously. "Listen and learn, Reindeer Games. I'm about to blow your mind."

"Don't call me Reind-" but she had inched into his personal space, leaned up, and place one of the odd strings in his ear. He snapped his mouth shut, in shock at her proximity. She snickered.

"Jeez, Reindeer Games, I haven't even started the music yet. Didn't think headphones were that interesting." Darcy rolled her eyes and pressed play.

_Do you remember the days_

_We built these paper mountains_

_Then sat and watched them burn_

_I think I 've found my place_

_Can't you feel it growin' stronger?_

And they sat together, sharing headphones, waiting for the sun to set.

Finally Darcy seemed to grow more and more fidgety against Loki's side. He frowned down at her, and opened his mouth to ask what the matter was, but he didn't get very far.

"Shhhhhhh!" She watched the sky intently. "It's about to start!"

Loki was about to ask WHAT was about to start when there was a small fwoosh followed by a high screaming noise, and a little comet-like object shot up into the air from the ground. He followed it with his eyes, watching as it climbed higher and higher and then appeared to vanish, along with the noise.

"Wha-"

"SHHHH!"

And then, with a tremendous, booming crack, it exploded, showering light and sparkling fire onto the world.

It was quickly followed by two more, on blue and one green, and then three, red green purple, each more spectacular than the last. He watched in utter fascination, but what brought the small smile to his face was Darcy. She oohed and ahhed with every explosion, lit up in the odd shadows thrown, and grinned with wild abandon. When she leaned back to see a particularly high one he put an arm behind her to keep her from falling, and she instinctively curled into his side.

He felt…content.

The "fireworks" (as Darcy called them) were over far too soon. He could feel his happiness sinking with the last shower of sparks. But Darcy just looked up at him and grinned, then pulled away to grab a small box and a package of matches. She pulled a long stick out of the box and handed it to him, then lit the end of it. To Loki's surprise, instead of a regular flame, a shower of sparks erupted from the end.

"Sparklers." she said with a smile at his astonishment. "Watch." And she stood up and began to dance, absurdly, waving the sparkler around. Loki watched the long trail it left behind as she waved it about, and then whipped his own around.

As the night led on their supply of sparklers lowered until they simply sat and talked. He asked what all this was about, and she explained about the revolutionary war and American Independence, and Loki began to understand about patriotism, and why he'd picked the wrong country to attempt a coup de tat with. Not that he had any intention of pulling one of those again.

In return, he taught her about politics of living in the Asgardian court, the structure of the government and how power flowed. She sat fascinated, and the conversation drifted on until Darcy, with a bleary look in her eye, slumped across his chest and dropped off to sleep.

"Darcy…" Loki frowned. "Darcy, while I appreciate that you're dead tired, I'm not allowed to teleport, and you're the only one who can drive. You'll have to drive us home."

She stirred slightly, only to mumble, "Mmmmm…sleep here.." and then dropped off again.

So Loki leaned back and watched the stars, and when Darcy shivered, he curled into her and fell asleep as well.

It was well worth SHIELD's yelling in the morning.

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**Jesus the site was being a pain. Reviews make my day!**


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